The present invention relates to an automatically fastening seatbelt assembly which causes an occupant of a vehicle to be automatically held to a seat in the vehicle by restraining webbing after the occupant is positioned on the seat in the vehicle. The seatbelt assembly includes a guide rail, a slider which is displaceable along the guide rail and a restraining webbing which is fixed to the slider at one end thereof. The guide rail is provided with stop switches at each ends thereof, the stop switches being connected to a source of electricity or an electric control circuit through connecting wires. Further, the stop switches detect the arrival of the slider at either end of the guide rail and output signals to the electric control circuit. More particularly, the present invention relates to improvements for fastening the connecting wires to the guide rail prior to installing the guide rail on the vehicle body, by utilizing a fastening means. The fastening means obviates the installation problems encoutered with known devices.
A similar seatbelt assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,489. This patent discloses a seatbelt system which includes a guide rail having a longitudinal guide groove therein. The guide rail is fixed on a roof side member of a vehicle, and a slider slides within the guide groove and is displaceable along the guide rail. Further, the slider is connected to one end of a restraining webbing by an anchor plate. The guide rail is provided with a forward stop switch provided at a forward portion of the guide rail and a rearward stop switch provided at a rearward portion of the guide rail. The forward and rearward stop switches are connected to a source of electricity or an electric control circuit by connecting wires. The connecting wires supply current to the forward and rearward stop switches, which in turn can supply an output signal to the electric control circuit. When an occupant sits on the front seat in a vehicle, and the door of the vehicle is closed, the slider moves from a forward location to a rearward location as it is displaced along the guide groove, which causes the restraining webbing to move and results in the occupant being automatically restrained in the seat by the restraining webbing.
When the slider approaches the rearward stop switch on the guide rail, the slider contacts an actuator on the rearward stop switch, thereby stopping any further displacement of the slider. Conversely, when the occupant opens the door of the vehicle, the slider moves from its rearward location along the groove to a forward location, causing the retraining webbing to move away from the occupant toward the front of the vehicle. When the slider approaches the forward stop switch, the slider contacts an actuator on the forward stop switch, thereby stopping any further displacement of the slider. Thus, the occupant may exit the vehicle. Hence, this seatbelt system makes it very convenient for an occupant to be fastened in by a seatbelt.
However, this seatbelt assembly is very difficult to install in a vehicle. Specifically, it is particularly troublesome to install the guide rail and the connecting wires of the forward and rearward stop switches on the roof side member. The difficulty arises because the connecting wires often twist around the guide rail and frequently become tangled together when they are installed on the roof side member. As a result, the individual putting the assembly together must use a substantial amount of time and effort because the connecting wires must be independently secured to the roof side member after the guide rail has been installed on the roof side member.